Dover directions

Take I-77 north to the Dover exit (Exit 83) and make a right. Bear to the left at the Y (Slingluf Avenue) and follow it to the stadium.

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ZANESVILLE - Tri-Valley junior Adam Bice is convinced his team won't get lost in the postseason hype when it visits Dover tonight.

For his team's sake, he'd better be right.

The Scotties will match spread offenses with No. 5 Dover in a Division III, Region 11 quarterfinal tonight at 7 o'clock in Crater Stadium, the Tornadoes' home field.

The winner plays either second-seeded Cambridge (10-0) or seventh-seeded Canal Fulton Northwest (6-4) in the semifinals next weekend, at a site to be determined on Sunday.

It is Tri-Valley's first playoff appearance.

"Our kids believe we're going to go up there and win," Tri-Valley coach Justin Buttermore said. "It's a lot easier as a coach when the kids already believe in themselves that they can compete."

The game features two of the top quarterbacks in the Eastern District in Dover's Perci Garner and Tri-Valley's Cameron West, who have more than 6,000 yards of offense and 50 passing TDs between them.

Dover seems to score points at the rate of inflation. It averages 37.1 points per game, having hit the 30-point mark six times, at least 40 points three times and 50 on two other occasions.

Garner, a Division I college recruit, is the man who triggers that attack, throwing for 3,345 yards and 32 TDs this season. He throws only one interception per 34.3 passes.

His top receivers, Daniel Ifft and Matt Rinehart, have 81 and 70 catches, respectively, and 2,583 receving yards and 25 TDs between them.

And they've done their damage against a schedule that included five playoff teams in Canton South, Orrville, Northwest, Cambridge and New Philadelphia.

The Tornadoes scored at least 21 points in each of those games - a tribute to their potency on offense. But they also surrendered 100 points in that span.

"We're going to have to sustain drives," Buttermore said. "You need to run time off the clock against them, but at the same time we're not going to get ultra-conservative. We have to be able to sustain drives and score points. If we don't, they're definitely good enough to make us pay for it."

Bice, whose play along both lines will likely help decide the game, agreed with his coach.

"They have a good quarterback and a lot of good wide receivers," said Bice, a 6-4, 220-pound center/defensive end. "We have to make them drive the ball and not hit a bunch of big plays. But we can't get our heads down after one big play, because if you throw it that many times, you're probably going to hit a big one eventually. We just need to minimize that."

Dover's offense isn't the only one with potency, however.

West has nearly 1,800 yards passing and 814 on the ground operating the spread option. Five of his receivers have a least 10 catches, with junior Wade Warner catching 33 for 783 yards and 10 TDs to lead the way.

"(West) has good athleticism, and he has the ability to go and make something happen if there is nothing there through the air," Dover coach Dan Ifft told the Dover-New Philadelphia Times Reporter. "He's the best on his team at running and throwing."

How West and Scotties' offense, which averages 29.3 points, favors against Dover's 5-2 defense could ultimately decide Tri-Valley's fate.

"We definitely have to keep the ball out of their (Dover's) hands; we don't want to go three and out, then have them score in two or three plays," West said.